The cost of the Downtown baseball stadium could increase by $10 million if the City Council approves changes to the construction contract Tuesday -- two days before the ballparks' official groundbreaking.

City officials said Thursday that they will ask the council to incorporate $5 million of previously approved funds for street and sidewalk work around the ballpark into the construction contract. Another $5 million is being requested for unexpected costs that may arise during construction.

"We could not build the project we have designed without it," said city engineer Alan Shubert, who's overseeing the ballpark project. "We would have to redesign it. É It would not be the ballpark the community wants. It would not be iconic or state of the art."

Deputy City Manager Bill Studer said $3 million would come from certificates of obligation earmarked for Downtown street projects in 2010 and previously approved by the council, while $2 million would come from the 2012 quality-of-life bonds approved by voters in November. The quality-of-life bonds included money for improvements to the Downtown cultural district. The walkways and pedestrian bridges would connect the ballpark to nearby museums and the entertainment district Downtown.

Shubert said that the work would have been done by other contractors while the ballpark was built, but that it made more sense to have the general contractor oversee the work for better coordination.

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The $5 million in contingency funds would pay for amenities such as a bar-restaurant or group and party suites that may not fall within the original $40 million construction estimate. That money would come from the sale of revenue bonds to be repaid through the hotel occupancy tax increase approved by voters in November, as well as ticket surcharges, parking fees and stadium lease payments.

REPORTER

Cindy Ramirez

City officials had previously said the ballpark would not exceed $50 million. Of that, about $10 million had been designated for architects, consultants and other pre-construction work, and about $40 million for construction costs.

If approved by the council Tuesday, the contract between the city and C.F. Jordan Construction/Hunt Construction Group could be amended to $50.2 million -- about $10 million more than originally approved by the council in January.

Jordan/Hunt was hired as the construction manager at-risk for the Triple-A baseball stadium being built where the former City Hall building stood. The manager at-risk serves as the general contractor, which subcontracts and oversees all the trade companies involved in the ballpark's construction. The ballpark is being built using a design-build approach, in which construction begins before a design is finalized.

City Rep. Eddie Holguin, who has opposed the ballpark project from the start, said he would "absolutely not" support the contract amendment.

"We promised the voters of this community it would not cost more than $50 million," Holguin said. "This ballpark is being built on a mountain of lies."

City Rep. Susie Byrd said said that while she has some questions on the issue, she would feel comfortable supporting the contract change "if these projects were pre-approved and we're just delivering a seamless project."

The city is also requesting an increase of about $725,000 to the design contract with Populous Inc., bringing that cost up to about $3.82 million. City officials said the design increase is due to additional features of the ballpark and design requirements for building near the railroad. They added that the change increases the contract value but is still within the design budget previously approved by council.

Overall, the council is being asked to approve up to $57 million in bonds to cover the design, site preparation and construction costs associated with the ballpark project, as well as the cost to issue the bonds and install public art as required on capital projects.

An Austin district judge in February OK'd the city's plans to build the ballpark and issue up to $57 million in bonds to pay for it.

Shubert said a major redesign could jeopardize the timeline, and the stadium may not be ready by April 2014 when the Tucson Padres Triple-A minor league team is supposed to relocate to El Paso.

The original contract called for substantial completion of the ballpark by March 1, 2014, which would allow the team to begin play in April of that year. The entire project would be completed by May 2014.

In November, voters approved an increase to the hotel occupancy tax paid by hotel visitors to finance the majority of the ballpark -- about 72 percent of the originally estimated $50 million. The rest of the cost was to be paid for through ticket surcharges, parking fees, lease payments and other revenues.

Officials with MountainStar Sports Group, the local investors bringing the minor league baseball team to El Paso and leasing the stadium from the city, said they had no comment.

The City Council first agreed to build the ballpark in June, and entered into a contract with MountainStar for the lease of the ballpark in September. Also in September, the council approved the Ballpark Development Agreement with MountainStar, and agreed to use the construction manager-at-risk to build the stadium.

The development agreement states that if the city fails to meet its completion deadlines, the city will have to pay "late opening charges" to the club, though those costs are not specified in the contract.

MountainStar officially acquired the minor league Tucson Padres in October. The team, an affiliate of the major league San Diego Padres, will be renamed and rebranded when it comes to El Paso.

The Tucson Padres are playing in Tucson this season under a year-to-year lease with Pima County for the use of the publicly owned Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium.

About 500 people are expected to attend the El Paso ballpark's official groundbreaking ceremony May 30. Local dignitaries, community leaders and representatives from Minor League Baseball, the Pacific Coast League and the San Diego Padres baseball organization will attend.